


Lightning Magic

by Patience_on_a_Monument



Category: Dark Souls (Video Games), Dark Souls I
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Oscar Lives, POV Second Person, Slow Burn, Voltage Verse, voltageverse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-03
Updated: 2017-08-08
Packaged: 2018-12-10 13:20:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11692479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Patience_on_a_Monument/pseuds/Patience_on_a_Monument
Summary: Some souls always create a more powerful connection than others, and not everything is as dark as it first appeared.





	1. Inductance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was inspired, I have no excuse. I hope you enjoy the wonderful weird!

Lordran is a cold, dark place, where desperation and brutality are so commonplace that they become ingrained in the soul. The encounters with other hurting, lonesome and yet martial wanderers and adventurers become a tiring venture where motives are murky and betrayal hides in the shadows, if they even survive the flick of a blade hurled in fear of new enemies or the flash of a spell that lost its target. The people of this place have grown cold and haunted by the endless grind of death and rebirth, the pull of the hollow tugging behind their eyelids and ever welcoming them into the cool, silky release of abandonment and the abyss. 

You are a relative newcomer here, thrust into chains, thrust before towering, hideous, wretched-smelling demons still pure and hopeful but with the wariness of a veteran seeping into your bones and your sinews and your stance, pulling you into better form and wringing out the indecision that racks you. With practiced steps you round the castle walls into the open sky, stretching out as far yonder as you have ever seen before in your sheltered un-life, and there is a moment when the world feels infinite, and yourself infinitesimal. Victory feels like a cruel joke, played by the cruel and unforgiving world that also bred the Taurus whose blood still clings to the edges of your robes as it dries, fur and bone caught on the trim of your boots. 

There’s a figure standing looking out into the expanse, and your guard is immediately up, slowing your pace and a chiding voice ringing through your mind at the futility and hazards of distractions in this place, in this existence. The man-shaped thing stands with its back to you and head raised to the sky, bathing its back in deep shadow and casting a thin halo of sunlight around the silhouette. It is unmoving, and you reflect this as you gauge your next move and whether the intense craving for even the briefest of conversation in the midst of, and in the aftermath of, such violence the likes of which you could never have imagined becoming your life is worth getting within the reach of its sword.

The issue resolves itself when he turns to face you, seemingly aware of noise despite the thick helm rendering his face inscrutable, and the gentle clink of his mail thunders in the quiet, stark against the gentle susurration of wind. 

“Ah, hello!” he says calmly and happily, as though you are not both stuck in the middle of a castle fraught with enemies and the risk of losing your souls and mind. You don’t hide your twitch of alarm at the sudden address very well. “You don’t look hollow – far from it! I am Solaire of Astora, an adherent of the Lord of Sunlight. Now that I am Undead, I have come to this great land, the birthplace of Lord Gwyn, to seek my very own sun!” His voice is deep and smooth, and you feel the tension bleed from your bones and sinews, content in the moment to trust, even if he seems a little unhinged. You never put away your mace, and you move to angle yourself to still be able to see back up the stairs, but it’s a lot better than being confronted with some new class of monster to tackle. You sweep a look around the area, concentration on to ensuring safety from good ambush sites before paying attention once again to where your new companion has seen immediately through a look of disbelief too ill-concealed to fool even one looking on the world through slits.

“No need to hide your reaction. I get that look all the time!” His laugh is genuine and carefree, and it sits low and warm in your chest until it tugs an answering smile onto your face. “So, I didn't scare you?” he asks, and it feels impossible now.

“I have a proposition, if you have a moment. The way I see it, our fates appear to be intertwined. In a land brimming with Hollows, could that really be mere chance? So, what do you say? Why not help one another on this lonely journey?” You nod quickly, feeling pulled along by the force of his gaiety and the deep longing in you for something here to be good and uncorrupted, unspoilt by the seeping darkness and death all around. Being intertwined in the fate of another is irresistible.

“This pleases me greatly!” Solaire replies, and you can hear the truth of it on his tongue. “Well then, take this!” he beams at you, and presses into your hand a little sculpture that feels smooth through the thin leather of your gloves, a hum of power emanating from him as he does so. You take a mental note to never face him as enemy.

“We are amidst strange beings, in a strange land. The flow of time itself is convoluted, with heroes centuries old phasing in and out. The very fabric wavers, and relations shift and obscure. There's no telling how much longer your world and mine will remain in contact. But, use this, to summon one another as spirits, cross the gaps between the worlds, and engage in jolly co-operation!” It doesn’t make sense to you, as everything else happening to you makes no sense, but your skin starts to tingle; probably from the thought of being in another reality thanks to the whim of fate or at the summons of Soltaire. “Of course, we are not the only one engaged in this. But I am a warrior of the sun! Spot my summon signature easily by its brilliant aura. If you miss it, you must be blind!” He laughs, and you smile wider next to him, feeling like there may be some light in this world after all, even in the form of unfunny jokes from incredibly bemusing and beguiling bucket helmed brothers-in-arms.

“I will stay behind, to gaze at the sun. The sun is a wondrous body. Like a magnificent father! If only I could be so grossly incandescent!” He croons to the sky as he raises his face to meet the sun, the shine blinding as it reflects off the metal and making him difficult to look at unless you squint. The sight is dazzling.


	2. Conductance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You work better in parallel than in series.

Anor Londo is an empty, impersonal space that stands in immediate contrast to the swampy, open misery of Blighttown as it steeped in its pestilence, and the worn but bloodthirsty practicality of the arrow-riddled labyrinth of Sen’s Fortress. The onslaught of Gwyn’s Silver Knights has been relentless as they struggle to protect a long-gone master and a house barren of all but illusions and memories. There are large rips in your robes where a dragonslayer arrow got through, exposing ribs that poke through the muscle that turned to jerky in the leather of your skin. Your joints feel tight from the fatigue, injuries burning while the lack of sensation from your Hollowed skin makes the world feel distant and the pain inside more present.

There is a familiar crackling glow to be seen in the gap under one of the near doors, and you elbow your way through it uncaring of the wisdom in lighting a bonfire in the middle of a castle furnished with fireplaces - intent only on the sweet respite and recharge that only comes from the safety of the flames and the heat of it in the cool of your dead and dried body. 

You get a shock as you stumble into the middle of the marbled floor and find yourself in company, and it takes a second for you to recalibrate from the “cast first, ask later” mindset in your weary and battle-ready state. You recognise him almost immediately, still looking hale and hearty, human skin still showing proud in his unguarded and unblemished hands in his pristine armour. You feel the tightness of your own mummified cadaver even more and self-consciousness rises in your gut as you try and surreptitiously brush the mimic teeth from where they lodged around your waist, clinging to flesh and fabric alike.

He turns towards you, shifting himself round as he sits to face you better as you pant harshly in the threshold, trying to decide whether to skirt conversation or charge on in. He glows in the firelight, and it almost seems to collect in his armour, an imitation of the solar emblem on his chest.

“Oh, there you are. You've been quiet these days. Smooth summoning out there?” You barely mumble out a “fine” in response - he must have seen a display of your skill when you fought the bell gargoyles together, and you hope he means his comments as a mark of respect and faith, not of concern. You’re not the same green newly-undead that first met him but stronger and sharper; shaped in combat, quenched in blood, tempered by dragons. He still seems jovial however, and you sense no patronising air to his comments, and pray to have kept a friend.

“Anytime you see my brilliantly shining signature, do not hesitate to call upon me. You've left me with quite an impression. I would relish a chance to assist you. You really are fond of chatting with me, aren't you? If I didn't know better, I'd think you had feelings for me! Oh, no, dear me. Pretend you didn't hear that!” As Solaire chuckles out a laugh, you are suddenly thankful for your hollowfication so he can’t see the blush that would no doubt be surging onto your face if you had enough functioning capillaries and skin tone capable of change other than “longer dead.” You settle down next to him and try to let his positivity flow into you as you rest, concentrating on restraining yourself from trying to peer through the gaps in his great helm.

You leave the bonfire feeling warmer than you have in days, and there is no way of convincing yourself that a particularly powerful flame had been kindled or the enclosure of the room has raised the temperature. All resistance leaves you when you feel your heart thrum and your limbs fizz upon spying Solaire’s summon sign - shining far brighter than any other - and he steps through the gate with you against the Executioner and Dragon Slayer, proud, golden, radiant and strong. You think you hear an echo of a laugh as he fades after you emerge victorious, head bowed to you in reverence, and your face feels warm when you raise your fingers to fleshy cheeks.


	3. Capacitance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Experiments in pulsing currents

The altar of sunlight is quiet and calming, an oasis of peace in a sea of drakefire. You feel the tension drain from your stance as you walk past the Hollow worshippers, careful not to disturb their prayers too greatly and tucking away all signs of malice. There is gentle murmuring that surrounds you from all sides and you pause to wallow properly in the moment, secure in the belief that no one here will harm you.

You spot Solaire standing a little apart and above and start to weave your way towards him with care for those around you, though even in your care you see Solaire’s head twitch as he stands in prayer, and by the time you are standing before him he has turned to you fully. 

“Oh, hello there! I'm glad to see you alive. You have done well, indeed you have. You've a strong arm, strong faith, and most importantly, a strong heart. I am in awe, really. Yes, yes…” He keeps his arms stock still by his sides as he talks and you cannot help but think he looks tense, that it doesn’t suit him at all.

“What do you think? Why not join me, as a warrior of the Sun? Righteous knights, guardians of all that is good, in the name of the Lord of Sunlight! … Only if it would please you, of course. Well?” The request catches you unawares, you take a moment to process the magnitude of the request and the trust placed in you after so few meetings and shared battlegrounds. You let the knowledge lay heavy in your abdomen for a moment, electrified and intimidated in equal amounts before you breathe out an affirmative.

“Oh! Magnificent! I knew you would fancy it! Then, join the Covenant! Here, stay still for a moment…” Solaire cries, bright and eager in the promise-making as he ushers you to hold your hands together in prayer as the new bond of the covenant congeals and solders together in your soul, finally clicking into place complete.

“And there we are. Now just say a prayer at the Altar of Sunlight, right there. Then you shall know the brilliance of our Sun.” He motions you towards the Altar for you to pay your respects, and you bow in service, making simple prayers of safety and deliverance before turning back to your companion. 

“Exhilarating, is it not? The power of the Sun! I am blessed to have found such a brave companion! Haha!” Solaire laughs, his mail clinking as he shakes. You face the sun as it inches into sunset and emulate him in raising your arms in praise. The sunset glints at you through the chain of your gauntlets making your fingers seem to glow, and they feel warm in the evening light. 

It feels like home.

  
  


The next time you find yourself at the Altar of Sunlight, bruised and charred but victorious over the drake above, the tone has shifted almost imperceptibly as you enter. Solaire is standing with his broad back to you and looking out into the grand view afforded by the keep’s position, bathed in the light that seems to caress him in a way it does not the others; the shadows on his back less clear cut, the light bouncing across his mail at impossible angles. He seems absorbed in his reflections to the point that this time for once he does not notice you first, and jolts a little when you clear your throat to alert him to your presence before turning in place to face you.

“Hmm! Ah, oh… hello there. Forgive me, I was just pondering… about my poor fortune. I did not find my own sun, not in Anor Londo, nor in Twilight Blighttown. Where else might my sun be? Lost Izalith, or the Tomb of the Gravelord? But I cannot give up. I became Undead to pursue this! But when I peer at the Sun up above, it occurs to me… What if I am seen as a laughing stock, as a blind fool without reason?”

He seems to be still lost to his thoughts, quiet and subdued in contrast to his previous ebullient persona and you feel your body take a half-step forward as though with the intent to comfort before you stop to consider his words – voluntarily becoming Undead. Your mind reels from the implications; at the potential methods for such a procedure, at the drive and self-assuredness that would be necessary to pursue such a path. You are shaken from your stun when he continues speaking, and feel shame course through you at your potential indiscretion in wondering on his circumstances.

“Well, I suppose they wouldn't be far off!” Solaire chokes out a laugh to follow his statement but it seems to get strangled in his throat, dissonant and fast-fading and breaking your heart where it rots in your chest. 

You clap him on the shoulder as a meagre gesture of consolation, utterly unsure how to respond, and feel electricity travel the length of your arm and uprooting you a step backwards. You quickly collect yourself and put it down to lingering magic from a lightning spear, trying not to think of the way Solaire snapped round to face you in the same moment you begin to bid a hasty retreat.


	4. Impedance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Transformance and acceptance.

The Demon Ruins are cloyingly dark and swelteringly hot as you drag yourself out of the lava of the Centipede Demon, the sweat streaming off you despite the protection of the orange charred ring and evaporating into steam almost instantly. The fight was long and fiddly from dancing around the pools of magma but knowing Solaire was at your back throughout and taking a lot of the heat from the angry insectoid made your body feel lighter and your body sing with magic. Lightning zipped from both of you as you worked together to bring the monster down, circling it and each other on your tiny island of solid ground, both shouting barks of victory when the tail fell free, and you couldn’t help but jump for joy when it finally collapses into ash before you, turning to Solaire in triumph with a huge grin across your face just in time to see his answering proud stance crumple and sag with a defeat you do not understand. He gave you the smallest of nods before he faded into nothing.

The interaction sticks to the inside of your brain as you dust the glowing nuggets of rock from your robes, still spinning in your cerebrum as you crest the pool and are confronted with the man himself, his back to you as he sits hunched and huddled by the fire. 

“…Why? …Why? After all this searching, I still cannot find it…Was it all a lie?” you hear him mutter, the sound catching and echoing in the chamber of his helm to sound even smaller. “Have I done this all for nothing? Oh, my dear sun… What now, what should I do… my sun, my dear, dear sun…”

You feel an immediate rush of sympathy flow through you and move to crouch down next to him, a hand coming forward to rest on his shoulder as you open your mouth to speak comforting words your brain is still struggling to organise into coherence. You never reach him however, fingers paused in mid-air as you spot a glow emanating from your index finger. You pull your hand away, suddenly cautious, and watch as the fire dies as the distance increases, burning brighter as you inch closer to Solaire’s back. The light is bright, white and burning and now you are aware of the tingling heat travelling through your veins into your core as you stare at the light, jerking your hand and trying to wipe it off on the skirt of your dark robes to no effect, simultaneously getting the attention of the slumped knight in front of you. 

“Is that… are you…?” he says, shock evident in his resounding whisper. “I’d heard stories back home, but…” He stops abruptly, clapping a hand to his hip before his back straightens and shoulders relax in apparent revelation. You stammer out an uncertain, “what?” but it lacks any force to make him answer. His gaze whips from your finger to your face that is colouring rapidly under the scrutiny.

“You must be the other half of my soul… I grew up with the stories but never thought, it’s so rare! And of all the places to find you,” he rasps, voice close to breaking utterly as you stare on in confusion and heartrate mounting. “This is why I felt like I lit up when you were near, because I was! Don’t you see? Like I’m the lodestone and you are North.” He breaks to shuffle round to you on his knees as you collapse onto your own, grasping your hand that lights up to blinding levels and electricity zaps along your arm into your chest where it seems to collect under your sternum leaving you buzzing and excited.

“You’re my sun, the one I was looking for all this time, and you make me shine too!” You use your spare hand to pull off the helm and look into his eyes for the first time, sparkling to pair with a dazzling smile you feel you could match your own. 

“My dear sun.”


	5. Luminescence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Every journey ends with readying your boots for the next one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes I did write this while listening to the 1 hour Gwyn, Lord of Cinder loop on Youtube.

Astora is beautiful in its fading glory: there is grace in the swoop of buttresses and rise of ancient arches patched with new and less-impressive shop fronts, a resigned but vibrant buzz in the hustle of market days, serene escapism in the babble of brooks nestled between lush fields. 

It is almost time to get ready for the day and you blink the sleep from your eyes as you are rudely assaulted by the first shafts of dawn light sneaking through the few cracks in your shutters. You can pick out the sounds of the city waking up in between the lilting cacophony of the dawn chorus, final preparations for the Fire Linking Festival in honour of Oscar already likely in full swing. Solaire always gets up at dawn and you roll over once you feel him shifting at your back, face to face as he wakes up. 

His skin is still warm in brightness, and when he fumbles for the dim outline your hand in the mess of sheets you can’t help but wonder at the light of your skin and the contrast easily seen between you. The full-body radiance from your activities last night is always slower to fade from Solaire than it is for you - coming down from such a blinding intensity would naturally eclipse your own recovery from a merely strong incandescence – and you feel the familiar conflicting impulses to hide away here in this room forever and to get dressed and out into the streets fast enough for the afterglow to be seen by passers-by, to show off your match for everyone. You know from the few times that such reveals have been unavoidable that Solaire loves showing off your sunlight just as much; infinitely proud and supportive. It never fails to make you fall more.

The two of you have been leading a transient life since being summoned together by Oscar into the fight against Gwyn, Lord of Cinder and witnessing the Linking up until the sudden banishment back whence you came, slowly wending along in the direction of the homeland shared by both Oscar and Solaire. Someone had to deliver the news of what happened, even if nobody remembered a long-departed Undead knight. Someone had to make the world understand why they continued to live in an energetic, vital world and not the slow drain they had been fated for. 

And the world had listened, taken the story and spread it with no more proof than fading Darksigns, a ruined crown and a scrap of blue surcoat torn off in the fight that you picked up after following his trail to the Kiln. Oscar himself was nowhere to be seen – likely for the best if the Linking had Hollowed him as was feared. You had maintained your Humanity since then, working to avoid danger where you could no longer secure in knowing what happened to the Undead Curse with a new Flame in residence.

The festival today was proof that the sacrifice, ascendance and cremation in one, was recognised. A statue had been carved for the square, there was dancing and story-telling and much roasting of meat, all to be followed by a procession of torches to the river to be doused in remembrance. You are planning on wearing no gloves and instead proclaim your own linking loudly. The soul link is said to be a gift to humanity from Gwyn himself in ages past, a guiding light and the touch of the gods, to bring happiness and fecundity in a dark world. Solaire was using the story as a method of connecting his past with a present in which he had participated in killing the Hollowed Lord of Sunlight, and as a stepping stone into a future where very little was understood.

Solaire is awake now, blinking at you in the rapidly rising sun and smiling wide. You creak ‘good morning’ to each other and huddle a little closer, a soft and warm bundle of limbs and quiet touches as he runs fingers over your face to admire the juxtaposition in tone - just as you had minutes before.

“My gratitude again for finding me, I would never have had the strength to make it through Lordran without you” he says mutedly, slurring in the lingering grasp of sleep. It is spoken in true seriousness but chased with the self-deprecating chuckle you know so well. You have tried convincing him that he is stronger than his moment of weakness in the Demon Ruins, but you both know that he would have ended a hollow had he not seen your light. The memories are still painful.

“I would never have had the chance to see this new world, or to see my people again after giving so much for my quest, or to have a chance to lay with you - or _for_ you! I never would have expected so much _life_ after choosing Undeath, if you will forgive my wording!” He laughs again, more heartily now he is closer to being truly awake, and shuffles up the bed to lean back on the headboard still aglow. You follow suit, curling up your knees to listen. 

“This egg we are having will be the most perfect and golden the world has ever seen, a true sun that no one can refute! I will make it the purpose of this new life I have bartered for.” His face is bright; grin almost rending his cheeks as he tells it, eyes glazing in thought as the hand not holding your own rests on his abdomen. “They will be the sun and moon together: warm and powerfully strong, pure and serene in faith. They will bring so much light to the world.” 

The adoration smoulders hot in your ribcage as he turns back to you and you lean in for a kiss, chaste and quick that bounces power between you, electric, before pulling back and beckoning him to dress for the day.

You go together out into the street, glowing hand in glowing hand, both bathed in sunlight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Solaire would 100% call his kids Gwynedd and Gwyneth.


End file.
